The AP reports: The Heat beat the Wizards on Tuesday night for the second time in five days. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, leading six players in double figures in a 94-87 victory. “We would love to have a game like this where everybody is in double figures all across the board,” said Wade, who also had 10 assists, six rebounds and five turnovers despite rolling his ankle Sunday against Toronto… Antawn Jamison (25) and Caron Butler (21) had 46 of the 59 points scored by the Wizards starters. Nick Young added 12 points off the bench, but his four turnovers included a bad pass in the final minute that ended Washington’s attempt to comeback from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit.
Category: Miami Heat Blog
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Nov 16: Raptors 107, Heat 96
The AP reports: Chris Bosh scored 27 points, Jermaine O’Neal had 11 points and 18 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 107-96 victory over the Heat on Sunday. Kris Humphries scored 14 points and Andrea Bargnani added 12 in his first start of the season. Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker each had 10. Dwyane Wade scored 29 for Miami, with Daequan Cook adding a season-high 16 and Michael Beasley 13. Chris Quinn had 11 points and Udonis Haslem added 10 for the Heat… Toronto guard Jose Calderon sat out with a strained right hamstring and was replaced by Will Solomon, who finished with 15 points and 11 assists.
Nov 14: Heat 97, Wizards 77
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 24 points before taking the fourth quarter off, the Heat held Washington without a field goal for 9 minutes in the second half and outrebounded the bigger Wizards by a huge margin on the way to an easy 97-77 victory on Friday night. A 20-1 run in the third quarter turned a six-point lead into a rout for Miami (5-4), which needed 20 games to hit the five-win mark last season… Michael Beasley scored 19 points, Udonis Haslem had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Marion—who had missed two games with a strained groin—added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who held a 52-33 advantage on the boards… Antawn Jamison finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which fell to 0-4 on the road and an Eastern Conference-worst 1-6 overall. JaVale McGee and Nick Young each added 13 points for the Wizards, while former Heat standout Caron Butler was held to six points.
Heat arena has tons of empty seats
I’m flipping around NBA league pass, and stopped by the Wizards at Heat game. Miami has an early 14-9 lead. Nothing worth reporting about the game yet, and I’ll probably head to another game in a few minutes.
But it has to be said, judging by TV, the expensive seats look at least 66% empty. The red seats stand out in a big way on television.
I’m a bit surprised that it’s this bad.
The team supposedly gets over 16,000 fans per game so far this season. That’s what’s listed, at least. And, the Wizards aren’t exactly a particularly hot opponent. Still, someone has to get Heat fans into the arena. The team has holes at point guard and center but is still worth watching.
Dwyane Wade is healthy and himself again, even if he’s still getting used to his teammates and new coach. He’s putting up 28.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game on 49.0% shooting. That alone should attract plenty more fans.
Michael Beasley has been a good scorer, but he isn’t rebounding as much as expected. His defense is lacking and a serious work in progress. But he’s good and fun to watch, especially as he grows into a refined player.
Shawn Marion isn’t himself yet. Udonis Haslem is playing decently as a vastly undersized center.
The point guards and centers aren’t worth mentioning at this point.
Still, the team is fun and decent. Heat fans, go see your team!
Wade talks to InsideHoops
Opening night in Madison Square Garden, InsideHoops.com and a few other reporters talked to Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade.
The interview was just posted today (don’t worry, we’re almost caught up on the older Q&A’s from a week or two ago) and is worth a skim-read. Hit it here.
Beasley defense lacking
The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Coach Erik Spoelstra said it couldn’t be done, and he was right. The Heat can’t hide Michael Beasley’s defensive shortcomings. But Miami is trying. It put center Udonis Haslem on Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge in Wednesday’s 104-96 loss. It was the fourth time in eight games Beasley defended the opponents’ center instead of its power forward. Eventually in the Portland game, Beasley, who struggles with defensive rotations, had to be taken out altogether. “There were a lot of situations being thrown at him yesterday, and his head was spinning,” Spoelstra said after today’s practice.
Nov 12: Blazers 104, Heat 96
The AP reports: Rudy Fernandez scored 25 points, including a clutch spinning jumper as the shot clock expired with 44.9 seconds left, and the Blazers celebrated Oden’s comeback from a sprained right foot with a 104-96 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Brandon Roy scored 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 for the Trail Blazers. Oden, the 2007 No. 1 overall pick who missed all of last season and hadn’t played since getting hurt in this season’s opener, finished with three points and two rebounds in 16 minutes… Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook each scored 11 points for Miami, while Chris Quinn scored 10 and Udonis Haslem finished with 11 rebounds. Miami had 19 turnovers that Portland turned into 26 points.
Joel Anthony name games
The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Center Joel Anthony was so low-key as a rookie last season many fans don’t even know how to pronounce his first name. It’s Jo-elle. And judging from his performance in Monday’s 99-94 victory over New Jersey (four points, four rebounds, one block), he might be ready for more minutes at Mark Blount’s expense.
InsideHoops.com editor says: If Joel wants his name to be pronounced “Jo-elle” he should consider adding a dash in the actual word. By the way, please now pronounce my name as “Jay-eff” rather than Jeff.
Nov 10: Heat 99, Nets 94
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, 14 of those in the final 4 1/2 minutes, and the Heat rallied to beat the New Jersey Nets 99-94 on Monday night to stay perfect at home this season. He entered the game 0-for-9 from 3-point range this season, but connected on four against the Nets, including three from beyond the arc during the frantic comeback… Michael Beasley scored 29 points and Daequan Cook added 15 for the Heat, who scored 26 points off turnovers and went 25-for-26 from the foul line—including a game-sealing 6-for-6 effort by Chris Quinn in the final 12.9 seconds… Yi Jianlian made a career-best five 3-pointers and finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who got 22 points from Vince Carter… Former Heat guard Keyon Dooling scored 18 points for New Jersey, which also got 12 from Jarvis Hayes and 11 from Bobby Simmons.
InsideHoops.com Notes: Brook Lopez played just 14 minutes for the Nets and did little. Mario Chalmers, who starts at point guard for the Heat, had just 2 assists. Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and Mark Blount didn’t play.
Cool stats worth knowing
Phoenix’s Shaquille O’Neal needs 20 points to tie John Havlicek for 10th on the all-time scoring list (26,395). O’Neal is averaging 14.8 points over six games. He scored a season-high 29 points Saturday at Milwaukee. The Suns host Memphis tonight and Houston Wednesday.
O’Neal’s teammate, Amare Stoudemire, has attempted 15 or more free throws in a franchise-record tying three-straight games (Connie Hawkins: January, 1970; Stoudemire: April, 2004). The last player to attempt 15 or more free throws in three straight games was Dwight Howard in December, 2007.
Toronto’s Chris Bosh is the second player in team history to pass the 7,000-point mark in career scoring. He has 7,011 points, second behind Vince Carter, who scored 9,420 points between 1998-2004.
Miami’s Mario Chalmers — one of only two rookies starting at point guard (Chicago’s Derrick Rose) — leads rookies in assists (5.7 apg) and steals (2.8 spg). Rose is second in assists (5.1 apg) and tied for fourth in steals (1.1 spg).
Milwaukee guard and former NBA Development League player Ramon Sessions is averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds.
Atlanta, which remained undefeated (5-0) with an 89-85 triumph over host Oklahoma City yesterday, is off to its best start since the 1997-98 season 11-0.
–NBA News